The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey

Despite raging wildfires only a handful of mikes away, this Ritz Carlton absolutely lives up to its formerly excellent reputation. From arrival to moving into our room took only minutes — at noon, well before official check-in time. The place is wonderfully located, well-kept and standard room are spacious and well appointed. From doormen to reception desk personnel and from restaurant staff to cleaning crews, this is the best Ritz stay we’ve had in years.

After reading the reviews, I was somewhat apprehensive about our trip, but we had a great experience. The staff is friendly and always wants to go the extra mile. A special shout out to Bianca who welcomed us with champagne, wine, assorted pop corn and a lovely picture frame with our family photo. And best of all had balloons for my father to celebrate his 89th birthday. Rosa at the front desk, who always had a smile and was always receptive to any of our questions. We lived the extra touches, like the nightly hot chocolate. And while I didn’t get an upgrade (hotel was packed) and we had to deal with an obnoxious neighbor (non stop pot smoking and visitors coming to the room), the stay was amazing. The rooms were nice and clean (special shout out to the cleaning staff, they’re meticulous) with a nice view of the marina. The hotel is well located and we enjoyed long morning walks to Venice beach (try GJusta for a great breakfast or just some pastries). The hotel restaurant is good, but overpriced. We also followed the advice of other reviewers and parked our car across the street ($6 a day). All in all, this was a great stay, the room was well priced and the staff was amazing.

At first I got a bit concerned reading a few reviews, especially since I'm a big review believer. But I always like to make my own judgement and this time, they were wrong! Overall, if you're looking for Ritz Carlton, this was Ritz Carlton! I actually couldn't find anything wrong with my stay. The welcome is ALL I needed with a bright smile from the receptionist (I forget her name, Katrina or Anestasia? Sorry!). She was very sweet and welcoming. The dinner at the lobby was great too. My only feedback is that it was a bit sleepy; like nothing was really happening, no vibe really. A little bit of background music, maybe even someone playing some piano, SOMETHING could have made it a bit lively. Just an opinion. The rooms were good too, except the heater wasn't working for me but I'm always cold!

My wife and I celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary at this beautiful property last weekend. We entered our marina bay view room greeted by heart made from yellow rose petals on our bed. Upon returning to our room after a nice walk on the marina, we were surprised to see 2 large bottles of sparkling water, a 3 level tray with cheese cake, assortment of cookies, chocolate covered strawberries and candies. However the biggest treat for me was the 2 chilled cans of my favorite beverage-A&W root beer! When on property we spent the majority of our time in the Club Lounge. Adam, Alondra and Maria were (as were the other staff members in the Lounge) exceptional. They were professional, warm and eager to delight their guests-something they all said was fully supported by their leadership. The breakfast is outstanding with plenty of offerings, including an omelette bar. I would encourage anyone visiting to splurge for the Club as it truly is an oasis within an oasis! Lastly, while this is not a newer property it is well maintained and thus has aged well. Wayne

We have stayed at this hotel for years and this is the first time that we're disappointed. The hotel looks tired, with baseboards that need painting and rooms that need to be refreshed. But, I could have ignored that if the service had been up to Ritz Carlton standards. Unfortunately it was not. The general manager really needs to step up the staff training. When we checked in, there was only one person working at reception. This was a Friday afternoon of a busy week-end (the Rams were playing the Bills at home on Sunday). As the line of people waiting to check in grew, he finally went to the back room and got a second receptionist to come out. When the line continued to grow, he went in the back and got a third receptionist. We were second in line and waited over 20 minutes to check in. My question is why were the employees in the back room not at the receptionist desk where they could help hotel guests check in? Also, in the past, we were always offered a bottle of water at reception - - not this time. And, the receptionist did not tell us, although this was the custom on previous visits, that if we wanted turn down service we had to request it and it would be noted on our reservation. But, it wasn't just the front desk. The service in the lounge on the club level was almost non-existent on Friday and Saturday. The only competent and friendly person working in the lounge was Adam on Sunday night. He deserves a shout out. The other employees spent most of their time talking to each other in the back room behind the bar. If you needed anything, you had to walk behind the bar to get their attention. Moreover, they paid very little attention to the lounge itself. When we walked in on both Friday and Saturday there were at least 2, and some times 3, tables that had not been cleared. The guests had left and there were dirty dishes sitting on the tables. On Saturday morning when we went to have breakfast, there were no coffee cups near the coffee machine and the hot plate with bacon had only one strip of bacon. If this were a 3 star hotel with breakfast included for all of the guests, it might have been ok. But the Ritz Carlton is supposed to be 5 star hotel and the price of club level rooms is high. Hopefully the management can turn things around.